How to stay friendly with your neighbours

Everyone hopes that their neighbours will become good friends, famously quoted by Ramsay Street.  Here are a few helpful hints to live by so you and your neighbours live happily ever after.

First rule is simple - just say hello!

The clichéd cup of sugar could well be the perfect ice-breaker. With the way our life is in this modern age, it is possible to live next door to someone for months and never even know their name. A smile and a friendly hello really does go a long way and forms a great foundation for a harmonious relationship.

Treat your neighbours as you would like to be treated yourself

It’s polite and courteous to always let immediate neighbours know if you are having a housewarming or perhaps just celebrating getting to the end of the week. Even if you choose not to invite them, a note through their door may save an awkward late-night or a terse conversation the next day. It’s also mannerly to let them know about any renovations or building work, in fact anything which will impinge upon their quality of life and will help you to keep relations friendly.

Always try to see their point of view

Parents of young babies will know that try as you might, it is near impossible to quieten your child from screaming through the night. Always best to try to be emphatic, in case you too need some sympathy too at some time in the future.

Always try to be considerate

Keeping the outside of your property and the garden areas well maintained and presentable helps with keeping locals happy. However, consider if your neighbours garden is a mess and the rubbish is piled high that there may just be a good reason. Circumstances from illness to bereavement, and everything that falls in between, can mean that these things are no longer important and a bit of neighbourly concern can go a very long way. 

Think before you speak

When their cat likes to use your perfectly manicured grass as a lavatory, maybe your neighbours aren’t aware of how you feel? Perhaps they think you love their pet as dearly as they do and are happy to share your garden with them. Explain how you feel in a friendly and calm manner and help them understand. This is a good example because it raises difficult questions: who is to blame? Are your protests reasonable? What can your neighbour really do? Using carefully considered words in a measured tone might just save you from neighbourly discord.

If you’re a lettings landlord, these may be issues that you just don’t want to deal with. This is where the Oakley team comes in. We can help with any arising property management issues, from rent collecting, to gardening and maintenance for all your residential letting and management services. Call us on 01323 688884 for our Brighton & Hove office or 01273 487444 for our Lewes Town & Country office and speak to us about your property and lettings needs.